60 Series Charging issues

[Oosti]

Hi,
Having some charging issues.
As shown in the video, when I start the car the voltage climbs slowly by 0.01v. It then starts to drop when I turned on the high beams + indoor light. Towards the end of the video, when I start revving it, the charge climbs back up.
-It’s externally regulated
-orange filter light is on
-red charge light is on
-noticed that battery would die after leaving car for a few days
Can anyone give me guidance on what the issue may be? Does the alternator need replacing? Just the regulator? Any help is appreciated!

 

[Rusty Panels]

It sounds like you might need a bit of help from a mate with a multimeter and bit of car experience. First thing is to hook up a meter (multimeter) to the battery while the car is running and check the voltage which should be 13.8v up to about 14.4v if you're not getting anything close to that then it may well be the alternator or if it's an external regulator as you mentioned that may be the problem. So, check it with a meter and let us know the results.

 

[Oosti]

It sounds like you might need a bit of help from a mate with a multimeter and bit of car experience. First thing is to hook up a meter (multimeter) to the battery while the car is running and check the voltage which should be 13.8v up to about 14.4v if you're not getting anything close to that then it may well be the alternator or if it's an external regulator as you mentioned that may be the problem. So, check it with a meter and let us know the results.

Thanks for the reply! I did use a multimeter.

It was at 12.7v with the car turned off.
When I start the car, it seemed like it was slowly charging - the votlage climbed by 0.01v every second (it would eventually reach ~14v if it idled long enough).
When I turned the lights on the volts declined by 0.01v every 2 seconds or so.
When revving the car, the battery charged alot faster and climbed up to ~13v (might have gone higher if I left it revving for longer)

Hope that makes sense! I have a video but unfortunately this site wont let me post a video
Cheers!

 

[Rusty Panels]

It sounds like it's charging as it should so you may not have a problem. What revs is it idling at? Are we talking about a 2H Diesel? If so it should be around 800 rpm.
You also mentioned the alternator light glowing along with a filter light. The filter light from memory would be either air or the water drain on the fuel filter (that's on a diesel at least) and probably not related to the charging. I'm assuming the charging light goes out when you rev it?
If it's idling a bit too low and you start putting all your lights and other big load items on then it will drain your battery. The older Cruisers didn't have the bigger alternators that can output 100 plus amps. They were probably only around 60 amp units and that rating would have been at peak revs. I had a 1980 BJ40 Land Cruiser Diesel and the alternator on those was only 35 amps.
It sound like your's is working how it should. However, the old external regulators were renowned for problems. They had contact points in them that would eventually burn and affect the output of the alternator. If you have the old type then I'd be changing it for a solid state unit.
If you post your video on Youtube you can then attach the link to a thread.

 

[Oosti]

It sounds like it's charging as it should so you may not have a problem. What revs is it idling at? Are we talking about a 2H Diesel? If so it should be around 800 rpm.
You also mentioned the alternator light glowing along with a filter light. The filter light from memory would be either air or the water drain on the fuel filter (that's on a diesel at least) and probably not related to the charging. I'm assuming the charging light goes out when you rev it?
If it's idling a bit too low and you start putting all your lights and other big load items on then it will drain your battery. The older Cruisers didn't have the bigger alternators that can output 100 plus amps. They were probably only around 60 amp units and that rating would have been at peak revs. I had a 1980 BJ40 Land Cruiser Diesel and the alternator on those was only 35 amps.
It sound like your's is working how it should. However, the old external regulators were renowned for problems. They had contact points in them that would eventually burn and affect the output of the alternator. If you have the old type then I'd be changing it for a solid state unit.
If you post your video on Youtube you can then attach the link to a thread.

Yes it is a 2H.
I tried changing the fuel filter (+ bled the air out) which didn’t seem to help.

here is a link to the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/ma53yFeBiK4?feature=share

I will replace the drive belts tomorrow and check the things you mentioned above.
I see the previous owner did some dodgey wiring and spliced a wire (with a fuse) into the plug from the external regulator? Hmm

thanks for the tips

 

[Rusty Panels]

link to the video

It may be a bit low which may be the regulator but the good part is that it's actually charging. As I said I think the 60's were only running 60 amp alternators so it won't be putting out much current at idle or low revs. I reckon it's doing just what it was intended to do and if you want better results you will need to upgrade the alternator.
I don't recall much detail about the dash lights on the 60's but thought they indicated water in the fuel filter and maybe restricted air filters. It's been a long time since I owned one. If you are sure your filters are good then it's possibly the sensor on that particular filter.

By the way you seem to be missing your cooling system!

 

[Oosti]

It may be a bit low which may be the regulator but the good part is that it's actually charging. As I said I think the 60's were only running 60 amp alternators so it won't be putting out much current at idle or low revs. I reckon it's doing just what it was intended to do and if you want better results you will need to upgrade the alternator.
I don't recall much detail about the dash lights on the 60's but thought they indicated water in the fuel filter and maybe restricted air filters. It's been a long time since I owned one. If you are sure your filters are good then it's possibly the sensor on that particular filter.

By the way you seem to be missing your cooling system!

Ahh yep thanks so much for the advice!! Much appreciated
Haha yep in the process of replacing the radiator !

 

[cookie64]

Sounds like you may have something that when the vehicle is off it is still drawing considerable power if it is dropping each day until the battery dies, do you have clock radios and lots of other accessories that are drawing power?

As @Rusty Panels says above, if it is only a small alternator then you can only really draw what it can produce otherwise you are going to flatten the battery, if it is only a 60A alternator then allow say 10A for running the vehicle electrics, + lights ( 2 x 100w / 12V = 17A) so there's half your power generation right there, plus any other devices you have. Just check the wattage of the headlights as someone may have installed some aftermarket high wattage units instead of the rating they should be.

You have a multimeter there, it may have a current measuring capability, if so remove the positive and put the meter shunt in between and see how much your drawing with the engine off to see what sort of parasitic draw your dealing with so you can investigate what is causing it.

Just some other thoughts but I think @Rusty Panels has already given you some excellent advice.